The Less is More project: Week 8 - Wake up and smell the coffee

ume-y, Flickr

Is coffee a necessity? That question used to pop in my head every time I went to a morning meeting or to a kids' basketball game: everyone showed up with a mug. I also pondered it every time I saw it on the list of "essentials to take on a minimalist, back country camping trip".

(Okay, yes, I do tend to ponder things a lot in general.)

That was before I started drinking coffee myself. They are right: it's a - mild and legal - drug. Once you get started on it, it's hard to stop. Mind you, I only drink one cup of the black, unadorned substance (no cream, no sugar, sometimes a drop of milk) in the morning. But still. I does make a difference in my waking up process.

That being said, when I go camping, I don't bother bringing coffee. I feel so energized waking up to the nature sounds and smells that I practically pop out of my sleeping bag like a toast pops out of a toaster!

Now coffee (or tea) comes with a price tag. If you only drink it at home, and make it the old-fashioned way (i.e. with a bodum, like I do - it tastes wonderful), the price tag might be small. But a lot of people own fancy "small appliances" that not only are more costly, but also take up more room on the counter top. AND pollute incredibly. Don't get me started on the Tassimo or Keurig style coffee makers. I won't touch them with a ten-foot pole: their impact on the environment is enough to deter me completely. 

For more on the environmental impact of those single cup brewers that use coffee pods, click here and here.

As for buying coffee "on the go"... it might not be much better, from both an environmental and a health perspective. Disposable coffee cups are at the center of a debate, but if that isn't enough to raise doubts, consider the fact that a great proportion of people who grab coffee on the go sit at the drive-thru for several minutes. Who turns their engine off? 


Do your own little survey and let us know.


Another impact our coffee drinking can have is an economic and social one. For something we do mindlessly every morning, do we even question the provenance and the human impact? There is an ethical way to consume. There is fair trade coffee on the market. I believe it's worth buying.

Wow. A lot of things to ponder for a couple bucks a day, don't you think? Well, I'm not done with you. How many bucks are we talking about exactly? I know someone who buys coffee from a big chain every day on the way to work. She once told me "It's just $5 a day, I think I deserve it. Who cares if I spend a couple hundred dollars on coffee every year". I asked her if she systematicall buys coffee on workdays. She said yes. I made a quick calculation: if she buys coffee every day she works, her total for the year is probably well over a thousand dollars. Assuming that she never gets tempted by a muffin or bagel too. 


How much do you think you spend on hot beverages each year?


This whole post was prompted by an unfortunate event this week: my bodum broke. At first I did not have time to go buy a new one, so I had to come up with a quick fix. I found an alternative to filter the coffee particles: I make the coffee in a measuring cup (easier to pour from), then use a small strainer that I already had (and almost never used) as I pour the coffee into my drinking cup. It works fine. Now I wonder if I should even replace my bodum at all! 

I do own a bigger, traditional coffee maker, but I never use it. Since I am the only one who drinks coffee in this house, and only have one cup in the morning, it seems like a lot of hassle for such a small quantity. Which leads me to another question: do I even need this bigger coffee maker? Should I get rid of it? I only use it when we have people over, and mostly only the people who come to my place in the morning. Very few people drink coffee past lunch time, I have noticed. So this is a very occasional occurrence. A regular coffee maker takes up a lot of space. Maybe the solution is to acquire a good quality, bigger bodum, that I could use when I'm alone and when I have company over. I will think about it.

For further readings on the coffee industry:

Starbucked, A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture by Taylor Clark
Acheter, c'est voter. Le cas du café (To Buy is to Vote. The Case of Coffee) by Laure Waridel

WEEK 8 IN REVIEW

Temptations 

A bodum? I don't know. We will see.

I was briefly tempted to buy teaching materials. It's for work, after all. But I already own more than enough teaching materials. There's no rush. 

Donations

This week I finally tackled the daunting office. I am not done - the whole  process will likely take weeks - but it already looks less cluttered. I donated books.

I am also using the small, cheap, gently used toys my kids are not using anymore as prizes for my students when we play Bingo. Up to now no one has complained whatsoever. 

Observations

I realized that:

• I have quite an emotional attachment to some of my books! Especially the cumbersome and pricey textbooks from my B.A. in Psychology! There is one I think I will keep. One is reasonable, right?
• I own 3 different coffee measuring scoops. Mind you, they don't take up much space. But still. I will keep my favourite one.

Cogitations

It occurred to me that acquiring stuff is a little bit like gaining weight. The tendency is not easy to reverse. It takes a lot of hard work. Better off never accumulating stuff (or body fat) in the first place. Easier said than done...

What did you resist this week? Did you donate or get rid of anything? How did that make you feel? Please comment below! And...

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